Local Scene: Gilroy blood drive; author talk

Blood drive scheduled in Gilroy

The American Red Cross is experiencing a national blood shortage. Fewer donors than needed gave this summer, drawing down the national blood supply and reducing distributions of some of the most needed blood types to hospitals.

Donors of all blood types are urgently needed, and there is an emergency need for platelet donors and type O blood donors to make an appointment to give now to ensure patients across the country continue to receive critical medical care. 

The Gilroy Sunrise Rotary will hold a blood drive on Sept. 30 from 8am to 2pm at the Gilroy Veterans Hall, 74 West Sixth St.

When Hurricane Idalia slammed into the Southeast, the storm also forced the cancellation of more than a dozen blood drives and caused hundreds of blood and platelet donations to go uncollected. This compounded a shortfall of about 30,000 donations in August. Right now, blood product distributions to hospitals are outpacing the number of blood donations coming in.

Schedule an appointment to give by downloading the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1.800.733.2767.

Author to discuss pirate tales

Local author William Briggs will tell the tale of Hipolito Bouchard and his international exploits during a visit to the Gilroy Library on Sept. 23 at 1:30pm.  

Briggs is the author of “That Pirate, Bouchard,” which recounts the adventures of the French-born privateer Hipolito Bouchard, who sailed for Argentina during the South American wars of independence from Spain. Privateers practiced a form of government-sanctioned piracy and Bouchard sailed around the world searching for Spanish ships and coastal seaports to plunder. In 1818, he attacked and burned Monterey before raiding Santa Barbara and sacking the mission at San Juan Capistrano.

The Gilroy Library displays Briggs’ book and several others about pirates of the past.

Artists, vendors sought for Chalk Fest

The Gilroy Chalk Fest presented by MANOS returns Oct. 7 from 10am to 6pm in downtown Gilroy.

The event is made possible by the Gilroy Elevate the Arts grant through SVCreates and funded by the City of Gilroy, David and Lucile Packard Foundation and County of Santa Clara.

Chalk artists, sponsors are vendors are sought for the event. For information on becoming a vendor, call Stephanie at 408.762.8761. For sponsorships or to be a chalk artist in the event, call or text Pete at 408.427.597.

School district hosting resource fair

Gilroy Unified School District is hosting a Family Resource Fair on Sept. 28 at the District Office, 7810 Arroyo Circle, from 5-7pm. 

This event is open to all families.

Staff will be available to assist with the ParentSquare or Aeries apps.

Other resources offered include:

• GUSD Child Nutrition Program, including meal application assistance

• Information about the GUSD Power School Program

• Help beginning the GUSD volunteer clearance process, including free fingerprinting for attendees

• Information about GUSD transportation, and how to request bus service for your students (pending eligibility)

• Information about open jobs in GUSD

The fair will also offer goodie bags, raffle items, free school supplies and food.

Rotary’s pickleball tournament set for Sept. 30

The Rotary Club of Gilroy is holding a pickleball tournament on Sept. 30 from 8am to 5pm at South Valley Middle School, 7881 Murray Ave.

Proceeds from the event benefit local scholarships.

Registration begins at 7am. Each team will play at least three times.

Food trucks, beverage stations and more will be at the event.

Registration is $65 per person. For information and to register, visit tinyurl.com/2vzzwvxw.

New stores open in outlets
Gilroy Premium Outlets recently announced the addition of Journey’s, Beck’s Shoes and Cold Stone Creamery to its lineup of stores.

Cold Stone Creamery is known for its assortment of ice cream creations, featuring various flavors and toppings.

Journey’s offers a range of shoes from a number of brands.

Beck’s Shoes carries a curated collection of footwear.

Gilroyan honored at Southern New Hampshire University

Gavin De Carlo of Gilroy was named to the Summer 2023 President’s List at Southern New Hampshire University.

Full-time undergraduate students who have earned a minimum grade-point average of 3.700 and above for the reporting term are named to the President’s List. Full-time status is achieved by earning 12 credits over each 16-week term or paired eight-week terms grouped in fall, winter/spring and summer.